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Terry Jo Duperrault’s 82-Hour Drift Unmasked the Bluebelle Killings

Her testimony supported a Coast Guard conclusion that Julian Harvey scuttled the yacht for insurance.

Overview

  • Eleven-year-old Terry Jo was found after roughly 82 hours alone on a five-foot cork raft and was rescued by the Greek freighter Captain Theo, whose crew included Nicolaos Spachidakis and Evangelos Kantzilas.
  • Julian Harvey had been rescued days earlier and told officials the Bluebelle was lost to a sudden storm and fire.
  • Once Terry Jo’s survival became known, Harvey checked into a motel under an alias and died by suicide, leaving a brief note.
  • The Coast Guard investigation, reinforced by the child’s account, concluded the Duperrault family were murdered and the yacht was deliberately sunk.
  • Investigators cited Harvey’s history of suspicious insurance claims and said he intended to profit from his sixth wife’s $20,000 double-indemnity policy, and Terry Jo later recounted her experience in a 2010 memoir.